Ranma T
by Trooper1023
Summary: A DBZesque fic. Ranma falls into the Spring of Drowned Alien at Jusenkyou. Now he turns into a Saiyajin, complete with a tail! Well, being cursed is always a pain, but in this case...
1. Here's Ranma!

Disclaimer: All characters and concepts in this story are owned and copyrighted  
by their respective creators. They DO NOT belong to me. I'm just using them in  
this story I wrote for fun.  
  
is spoken in Chinese  
{text} is animal signs, for cursed people  
*text* is thoughts  
~text~ is sounds/actions  
  
Ranma T  
By Trooper1023  
  
Chapter 1: Here's Ranma!  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
Outside a typical Japanese home, a man in a brown gi with long black hair and  
a slim moustache was checking his mail. A wooden sign that read, 'Tendo  
Anything Goes Martial Arts Training Hall,' was posted in the front.  
  
Soun Tendo observed the dark mists moving across the horizon for a short  
moment. The freak storm had come and gone so quickly, it seemed as if it were  
an omen of some kind. Shrugging, he returned to checking his mailbox and  
discovered a postcard with an odd picture of a panda on it. He turned it over  
and read:  
  
'Bringing Ranma in from China.'  
'Saotome.'  
  
He began to cry joyfully. "Finally, my old friend will be coming here, and his  
son too. How I've waited for this day!" He ran back into the house excitedly  
calling for his three daughters. "Kasumi! Nabiki! Akane!" A frown replaced his  
smile. "Akane? Where is that girl?" Kasumi was in the kitchen as usual, while  
Nabiki was in her bedroom reading some new manga. However his youngest was  
nowhere to be found in the modest house.  
  
Down in the dojo, a girl in a light yellow gi breathed in, calmly and easily,  
as she stood in front of a pile of concrete bricks. Slowly she raised her  
right hand, forming it into a blade-like shape. Her shoulders tightened, then  
her hand came down in a blur of speed as she let out a loud yell. "HI-YA!"  
Dust, splinters, and chunks of clay flew everywhere as the pile disintegrated  
through the middle. Akane sighed in satisfaction, as she shrugged her long  
blue-black hair from her shoulders. "That felt good..."  
  
Suddenly a girl with short brown hair wearing a tank top and shorts appeared  
in the doorway catching one of the brick pieces underneath her foot. It was  
her older sister, Nabiki. "There you go again Akane," she spoke derisively,  
taking a snapshot of her sister out of a small camera she always had handy.  
"No wonder the boys think you are weird."  
  
"So? Why should I care?" Akane growled sourly wiping moist hair from her  
forehead. "Nabiki, not everyone believes the world revolves around, ugh,  
boys."  
  
Nabiki just looked at her, bored, before turning around to walk back to the  
house. "Then I guess you won't be interested in this. Daddy is quite excited."  
  
Akane frowned. 'Boys', and 'Dad excited', that was 'not' a good combination.  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
Outside the Tendo residence, all seemed peaceful. A gentle breeze whispered  
through the various trees around the large house, while the birds chirped  
among themselves, hopping along the swaying branches.  
  
However the peacefulness of the day was shattered amid the discussion within  
the Tendo home.  
  
"FIANC...E?!" two shocked voices called out, followed by a slightly quieter "Oh  
my!" Gathered around the family table, Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane sat aghast at  
what their father had just explained to them.  
  
"We have a fiancÈe, father? Why didn't you tell us before?" It takes a *lot*  
to faze Kasumi, and the fact that she was looking a little startled displayed  
just how overwhelmed she really was.  
  
"He did it so we wouldn't run away from home before he got here." Nabiki said  
sarcastically. Then she smiled. "On the other hand, there is still time..."  
She frowned. "Nah, too expensive."  
  
Akane wore a scowl so hot it could have melted an iceberg. "Dad, I can't  
believe you did this!" However none of what they said seemed to pierce their  
father's bubble of joy.  
  
"My greatest wish is at last to come true!" He smiled joyfully. "The Anything  
Goes School of Martial Arts will continue if one of you could marry my  
friend's son, Ranma, and carry on the dojo." The girl's realized then, just  
how important this was to their father.  
  
Soun continued, "And they just recently returned from a long training trip  
through China."  
  
"Ooh, China!" Nabiki exclaimed. Traveling meant they had money.  
  
Akane scowled all the more. "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!"  
  
Kasumi looked down at her hands thoughtfully. "I do hope he's not younger than  
me," she put in. "Younger men are so... young."  
  
"And I wouldn't mind if he's cute. What does he look like?" Nabiki looked  
expectantly at her father.  
  
Soun shrugged a little self-consciously. "I have no idea." He frowned as he  
thought about it. "I've never met him."  
  
Kasumi accepted this in her usual calm way, as the oldest she had more  
experience with their father's goofiness.  
  
Nabiki did a double take. "Engaging your own children, sight unseen?! Father, I  
think you've gone a little too far this time. We've never even meet this guy!"  
  
Soun wasn't fazed at all. "You want to meet him? That's already been arranged."  
  
Nabiki frowned, while Akane's scowl grew darker, if that was possible.  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
It was a quiet day in Nerima, Tokyo, as people went about their business. At  
least until a very well built young man came running up the street, yelling at  
something behind him. While his obvious level of fitness did turn the heads of  
some of the females on the street, this wasn't what caught most people's  
attention; it was the giant panda chasing the boy. People scrambled to get out  
of the way as the panda closed on its target.  
  
"KUSO! Can't ya just leave me alone for once!" The panda answered by taking a  
Martial Arts stance and attacking the boy. A crowd formed, and stunned  
onlookers expressed their thoughts that such a dangerous animal should be  
locked up.  
  
Any worries about the boy's safety disappeared however, as he danced around  
the panda's attacks with a grace and skill that was simply amazing. Even as he  
evaded, the boy kept yelling at the panda, as if it could understand. "Just  
who the hell do you think you are, engaging me to some girl I've never even  
met!" Many of the unattached females among the onlookers groaned as they  
realized that this fine specimen was already taken. The boy punctuated his  
accusation, with a "OYAJI-" one, "-NO-" two punch combo, followed by a  
"-BAKA!!" snap-kick. The panda staggered, then flew backward under the force  
of the kick. The animal slammed into a wall and lay still.  
  
"Jeez Pop, you're getting worse by the day. Now I'm outta here!" With that,  
the boy started to walk away. Unknown to him, the panda had revived. It crept  
up behind the boy and smashed him over the head with a sigh that read {This is  
for your own good, boy!} The poor boy slumped to the ground, only to be picked  
up by the panda and carried off. The crowd dispersed, rather disturbed by what  
they had seen.  
  
Nobody took notice of the brown sash wrapped around the boy's waist that  
seemed to shift slightly whenever he moved.  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
Soun laughed confidently. "But, having Genma Saotome as his father, what could  
go wrong?" Then came the sound of knocking. Actually it was more like banging.  
  
"Oh my," Kasumi's exclaimed. "Could that be them, father? And I haven't even  
prepared anything yet." She stood up.  
  
"Since the card came today, I bet it's them," Soun explained excitedly. "Oh it  
has been so long Genma! And now that you are here, the schools will be  
united!" His eyes started to water as if about to start another round of  
ecstatic weeping. Nabiki went to answer it, while Soun followed excitedly.  
  
Akane glared at his back. "Dad!" As she was about to continue to call out more  
complaints, Nabiki and her father ran back into the room. Nabiki looked  
terrified.  
  
"Run! It's a dangerous animal!" she shouted in horror as she tried to hide  
behind her father. At that point, the 'dangerous animal' waddled in. They all  
stared at the strange sight. A giant panda stood at the entrance on its hind  
legs. One massive arm was holding a largish person over its furry shoulder.  
The other was carrying a travel pack. Its human baggage was struggling  
violently, a mass of spiky black hair quite visible.  
  
"Chikuso! Leggo'a me al'ready!" came out of the struggling pile of limbs.  
"Can't you see you're scaring them, baka?"  
  
"Do you know these people, father?" Kasumi asked. These two couldn't be them.  
After all one of them wasn't even human. Soun just shook his head wildly.  
  
"So this panda just decided to drop in uninvited?" Nabiki asked impertinently,  
now that she was safe behind her father's back.  
  
Nobody got a chance to answer Nabiki's question. "Let... go... of... ME!!!"  
~CRUNCH~ Twisting on the giant panda's shoulder, the 'human baggage' slammed a  
knee into the panda's face. Then the person launched themselves into the air  
using the animal's head as a spring board, and sending the panda crashing to  
the ground outside. All three Tendo girls did a double take as the person  
touched down in front of them. It was a boy all right, though young man would  
probably be a better description.  
  
He had on slightly damp Chinese-style clothes, which consisted of a red  
sleeveless shirt, forearm bracers, and flowing black long pants. The shirt was  
plastered to his body, showing off an impressive chest, while the muscles on  
his arms and neck looked like steel cords under his skin. The brown sash  
around his narrow waist further accentuated his powerful upper body. *What a  
hunk! The money I could make as this guy's agent...* Nabiki went off into her  
dream world, yen signs in her eyes.  
  
He had coarse black hair; a short pigtail hung off the back of his head, and  
the rest of his hair seemed to be everywhere at once, standing up in spikes  
even under the weight of the rainwater. A couple of bruises and scratches  
marked his face, but these just seemed to add to the aura of raw power he  
projected.  
  
Eyes like black orbs glared furiously out at the panda. Then their dark gaze  
Softened and he turned. "Um... I'm Ranma Saotome," he said, turning to the  
Tendos. "Sorry about this."  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
The silence was defining. The three girls tried to get their mouths working as  
they attempted to stop blushing unreasonably. Then Soun jumped up and wailed,  
"Finally, you've arrived!" He burst into tears and gathered Ranma up in a huge  
hug.  
  
"Hey, what are you- OOF!" Ranma struggled to regain his balance and  
disentangle himself from Soun without hurting the man. "Let go'a me!" he  
grunted. When the Tendo patriarch didn't, he looked to the three sisters and  
asked, "Is he always like this?"  
  
Nabiki rolled her eyes and said, "Unfortunately, yes."  
  
Finally, Soun broke his embrace. He looked Ranma up and down and said, "What a  
fine young man my old friend has raised." Suddenly he frowned and asked, "Well  
Ranma, where is your father Genma?"  
  
Ranma looked embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head. "Could you get  
us some hot water? My father, ah... will be here shortly."  
  
Kasumi got up. "Sure, Ranma. It will be a few minutes until the water is  
heated though."  
  
"That's alright."  
  
Akane finally got her brain back in gear. *Hmm... he's too bulky to be a real  
martial artist, since all that muscle will slow him down in a fight. He's  
built more like a wrestler, but that does mean I'll have to watch out for his  
obvious strength.* Finished with her assessment, Akane asked, "Dad said you're  
a martial artist. What do you practice?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, I know some kempo..." he began.  
  
"Do you want to spar in the dojo?" Ranma started to fidget uneasily. "I  
promise I won't go full out." If anything, Ranma looked even more uneasy. He  
was currently remembering the last female he fought in a match... and the  
consequences.  
  
"Um... ok, sure." He finally decided, and got up to follow Akane out to the  
dojo. After a second, Nabiki went after them.  
  
Akane went in first, and walked straight into the large ring. Moving to one  
half, she gestured Ranma into the other half and got into an offensive stance.  
  
Ranma debated whether or not he should get into a stance or not. In the end he  
decided that it would be better to take a stance in respect of the girl as a  
martial artist, no matter how good or bad she might be. After all, he wanted  
to make a good impression, right?  
  
As Akane expected, Ranma got into a defensive stance. What caught her by  
surprise was the fact that his stance seemed to be one that mixed speed with  
strength. *What is he doing? Is it possible for someone as big as him to be fast  
enough to use that stance effectively?*  
  
Ranma-saiya was steadily getting more and more nervous. He had no idea just  
how tough this girl was, and since he was in his cursed form (though nobody  
else knew it) he had a LOT of extra strength that he needed to hold back.  
Moreover, he STILL didn't like hitting girls, although the bunch of Amazons  
in China had proven to him that, properly trained, a girl could be just as  
formidable as a guy. What he decided after that incident was that he still  
would not hit a girl... unless she had received heavy martial arts training,  
like himself. In that case, he would treat the girl as a martial artist, and  
respond to threats accordingly. Of course, he was never going to go full out  
against a girl immediately; instead he'd use only as much skill and force as  
necessary.  
  
Ranma settled on dodging her blows, blocking if needed *Doubtful.* and waiting  
until she wore herself out.  
  
"Ready?" she asked, and Ranma nodded. "Ok... 'cause here I come!" Akane closed  
the distance and launched a straight right punch. It wasn't very fast, really  
intended to test the reflexes of the other. But Ranma was gone by the time her  
fist would have hit. *What the?* The next three punches came no closer to  
their mark. *Is he reading my moves?!* A snap kick and the follow-up left hook  
missed as well. *I don't believe this! How dare he mock me!* "All right, this  
time for real!" Akane lashed out in a fast spin kick, but Ranma again slipped  
around it. She roared in fury and launched a flurry of strikes. He dodged them  
all.  
  
"KUSO!!! Stop dodging already!" Akane was thoroughly pissed off now. She wound  
up and threw her biggest haymaker with a wild scream.  
  
~THUMP~  
  
Akane stood frozen in her punching stance. Her best, most powerful punch,  
aimed at his chin, had indeed landed. But not where she expected. He hadn't  
dodged it, nor had he blocked it with crossed wrists. Nor had he taken the  
punch in the face. No... Ranma CAUGHT her punch in the palm of his left hand.  
With no apparent effort what so ever.  
  
Ranma-saiya was analyzing Akane's performance. *Hmm... She's strong. Not as  
strong as that Amazon girl, but still pretty impressive. Almost no control  
though; she doesn't know how to use her strength effectively. And her  
movements are jerky, not smooth and flowing; she's probably self-taught.*  
  
Meanwhile, Akane's brain started working again, and she was unwilling to admit  
defeat just yet. She pulled back, noticing that he did nothing to stop her,  
and with a roar she drove in again. This time Ranma flipped over HER, landing  
behind Akane and tapping the back of her head with a finger. The tiny bit of  
extra momentum was enough to send her sprawling into the dojo wall. She  
bounced off and landed hard on her butt.  
  
Then the sound of a pair of hands clapping filled the dojo. Looking over at  
the door with a groan, Akane saw Nabiki standing there with an amused look on  
her face. "Very impressive Ranma. Akane here is the local champion, 'The Best  
Martial Artist in Nerima,' and you just took her apart." The middle Tendo  
sister turned to face Akane. "I guess she'll have to start breaking even more  
bricks if she wants to regain that title."  
  
Akane started fuming. *I AM the best martial artist in Nerima, and NOBODY is  
going to take that away from me!*  
  
Ranma scratched the back of his head with one hand. "Ah... thanks Nabiki." She  
left, and Ranma turned to Akane. "You want some help?" he asked, extending a  
hand to help her up. She just slapped it away.  
  
"No!" she denied hotly. "I don't need help from some BOY!" Akane scrambled to  
her feet, furious, and was gone from the dojo.  
  
Ranma stood there, scratching his head again. *Wonder what that was all  
about...* He shrugged. Just then, Kasumi entered the dojo.  
  
"You must be rather sweaty after your workout, Ranma-kun. Why don't you go  
take a nice bath? It's all prepared for guests."  
  
Ranma responded intelligently, "Huh? Oh, thanks Kasumi-san." And he headed for  
the furo. *A nice hot soak will feel good, not to mention allowing the Tendo's  
to see the 'real' me. Although I do like my saiyajin form...*  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
Akane fumed. Not only had that BOY humiliated her, he'd done it in front of  
her sister! *ARGH! I'll show him! I'll show that macho jerk what a REAL  
martial artist can do!* She was so lost in her thoughts that Akane failed to  
notice the occupied sign on the bathroom door, or the cloths in a corner just  
inside.  
  
She stripped off her sweaty gi, then slid open the screen to the furo... just  
in time to get a COMPLETE view of their new guest. Ranma spun around and got a  
similar view of Akane. *Whoa... kawaii!*  
  
"... Why you perv-" she froze in the middle of her sentence, staring at a part  
of his lower anatomy. Ranma had just enough time to remember that he was STILL  
in his cursed form before Akane screamed.  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
"AAAAIIIIEEEEE!!! GET AWAY FROM ME YOU FREAK OF NATURE!!!" Akane came flying  
down the stairs in nothing more than a bath towel and scrambled behind her  
father. She was pointing back up from where she had come. Soun, Nabiki, and  
Kasumi all looked where she was pointing... and saw Ranma at the top of the  
stairs, a towel wrapped around his waist.  
  
"Akane what is it?" Nabiki asked in exasperation.  
  
In response, Akane pointed again and yelled, "He's a freak! No way I'm gonna  
marry him!!"  
  
Ranma stiffened. *Marry?! What's going on here?*  
  
Everyone in the main room except the new man with the bandanna around his head  
looked specifically where Akane was pointing. The remaining Tendos froze when  
they saw what she was pointing at. The furry brown "sash" that was previously  
attached to the back of Ranma's pants was now waving and curling on its own  
accord. Ranma-saiya noticed the stares at the newest part of his anatomy.  
  
"He... he's... got... a TAIL!!" Akane stuttered.  
  
To be continued...  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
Next time: Ranma's Secret  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
You will notice that, although Ranma is in his cursed form for a lot of this  
chapter, I still refer to him as "Ranma." This is because that part is told  
from the Tendo's perspective, and they don't know about Ranma's curse. After  
they find out about it, I start using "Ranma-saiya" again.  
  
And yes, Genma *did* knock out Ranma-saiya with one of his signs. Look at it  
this way: if (in the canon series) Akane can smack Ranma around from the  
beginning to the end of the manga WITH THE SAME MALLET out of hammer-space,  
there's got to be something going on there. I figure it's the same with  
Genma's signs. He can still knock someone out with them, no matter how strong  
they get.  
  
Also, you will notice that Ranma is actually acknowledging that Akane is a  
pretty fair fighter. No, she isn't *nearly* as good as Shampoo, but like the  
other martial artists in this fic, I've powered her up a bit, just to make  
things more interesting. Oh, and I'm also considering whether or not to have  
Ranma eventually start training Akane.  
  
Update: 6/29/01  
  
Finally! I have Ranma 1/2 manga volume 1! I've made a few changes to this  
chapter now that I have it, but the chapters from here on out will be both  
close to the manga, and very different.  
  
Update: 9/3/01  
  
Just changed the scene where Genma-panda drags Ranma-saiya into the Tendo  
home. I figured that with Ranma-saiya's increased strength, he should have no  
trouble freeing himself from Genma's grip.  
  
Updated last: 2/8/02  
  
Changed the order of scenes to more closely match the manga.  
  
C&C to: bjhaberman@prodigy.net  
Find the latest of my fics at: http://Trooper1023.tripod.com/ 


	2. Ranma's Secret

Disclaimer: All characters and concepts in this story are owned and copyrighted  
by their respective creators. They DO NOT belong to me. I'm just using them in  
this story I wrote for fun.  
  
is spoken in Chinese  
{text} is animal signs, for cursed people  
*text* is thoughts  
~text~ is sounds/actions  
  
Ranma T  
By Trooper1023  
  
Chapter 2: Ranma's Secret  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
"He... he's... got... a TAIL!" Akane stuttered.  
  
Several moments of silence followed. Then the largish man with the bandanna  
over his head cleared his throat.  
  
"My apologies for this whole incident. I am Genma Saotome, and as you know,  
this is my son Ranma."  
  
Nabiki interrupted before Genma could continue. "Um... excuse me, but where is  
that panda that was here earlier?" Genma sighed theatrically, while Ranma  
rolled his eyes and headed back into the furo for his cloths. Akane went up to  
her room and came back down in a bathrobe, still very rattled that their new  
guest had, of all things, a tail.  
  
Genma got into his 'story-telling position', which would look genuine to  
anyone who had known Genma for less than ten minutes. "It started during the  
final leg of our training trip through China. Ranma and I were to train at one  
last area before we began the journey back home. Unfortunately, training at  
this last area turned out to be a mistake. The place was called 'Jusenkyo'."  
  
"'Pools of Sorrow'?" Nabiki asked.  
  
"Indeed, that is a fitting name for the cursed training ground..."  
---------------------------FLASHBACK-----------------------------------  
-----------------------------START-------------------------------------  
It seemed like any other morning of their ten-year training trip when it began.  
Genma swatted his son out of his sleeping bag, and they sparred for a while.  
Then, after a quick breakfast, Genma dropped the bomb.  
  
"Son, we are almost finished with your training. After today, we are going  
home."  
  
They had been walking when his father spoke, and Ranma tripped and did a  
classic face-plant. He scrambled back to his feet and shot his father a look  
before speaking. "Seriously? I thought this trip would never end! All right!  
We headed back right now?"  
  
"No, son. First, we have one last stop to make... a legendary training  
ground."  
  
"Huh? What's so special about this training ground?"  
  
"You'll see, my boy. It's known as... Jusenkyo."  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
Several hours later the two cleared the woods, and looked out over a  
sheltered valley. Many pools of water were scattered around, and bamboo poles  
where sticking out from them.  
  
"Hey! This place isn't as bad as I thought it might be." Ranma commented as  
he set down his pack next to his father's. "Not nearly as bad as some of the  
OTHER training you've put me through!" He added as he glared at Genma.  
  
The fat martial artist shuddered as he remembered a certain incident involving  
fish sausages and lots of cats. He admitted that training his son in THAT  
technique had not been a good idea. Putting those thoughts aside, he leapt to  
a perch on one of the poles. "Let's not dwell on the past, boy. Now follow  
me!"  
  
Ranma followed suit as he took up a position opposite to his father. They  
then began leaping about, trading blows while maintaining their balance. Just  
then, a tubby Guide appeared from his hut. "Here sirs! We come to famous  
training ground of Cursed Springs..." The Guide's eyes bugged out when he saw  
two people hopping from pole to pole, attacking each other; he started  
yelling for their attention. "No sirs! Very bad you fall in springs!"  
  
It wasn't long before one of them took a tumble. Genma found himself dropping  
into a pool after a kick from his son slipped through his defenses. As he  
made a big splash, Ranma landed on a pole to the right. Behind him was a  
spring that was small and seemed extremely old. The rocks on its banks were  
covered in moss and several of its poles were all but rotted through.  
  
Just as Ranma landed on his perch, a huge panda erupted from the pool Genma  
had fallen into. "What the!" Ranma gaped at the animal. His mind barely  
registered the Guide's words about a panda drowning in that spring two  
thousand years ago, when it suddenly leapt forward. The panda's attacks  
easily passed through Ranma's startled defenses and knocked him backward into  
the spring behind him.  
  
~SPLASH~  
  
Ranma came up sputtering. He ignored the tingling sensation in his body,  
grabbed the side of the pool, and hauled himself out. Oddly, he caught his  
foot on the edge of the pool and fell flat on his face. "OOF!" *Since when  
was I clumsy like that? And how come my cloths feel tighter? A single dunking  
wouldn't make 'em shrink that much.* Then he heard the Guide's voice behind  
him.  
  
"Young sir, you fall into Spring of Drowned Alien! You turn into "Saiyajin",  
Saiyajin form very much like real form."  
  
"Eh? What's a saiyajin?" Ranma asked, not noticing that the Guide had  
retreated to his hut. He spun around and looked down onto the surface of the  
pool. His reflection stared back up at him... sort of. There were  
differences. The first thing Ranma noticed was his hair. Instead of the soft,  
fine hair that he was used to seeing, he now had very coarse, spiky hair that  
stood out at various angles in large clumps. His pigtail was the same way;  
the unbraided hair at the end had divided itself into spikes, as if trying to  
separate itself. Next he noticed his chest, shoulders and arms. Looking down,  
he saw that he was bigger than he remembered. *Whoa! All of a sudden, I'm all  
muscular... Hey, I bet I'm a lot stronger now!* Then he realized his eyes  
were different too; instead of the familiar cobalt blue, his eyes were now  
black orbs, seemingly without pupils. *Weird.* He stood up, and noticed that  
he had gained quite a few inches of height. Taking one last glance at his new  
look, Ranma saw something that made him freeze. Waving around behind him,  
covered with soft, brown fur ... was a tail. "ARGH!!! WHAT THE HELL IS  
THAT!?!"  
  
"Growf?" Ranma-saiya spun around. Behind him was the same panda that had  
knocked him into the spring standing there, looking at him as if to ask  
'What's your problem?' Then the Guide reappeared, with a kettle in one hand  
and an old book in the other.  
  
"Good sirs, no trouble see? Hot water change back to normal!" The Guide  
poured the steaming water over the panda, and Ranma-saiya's eyes bulged as  
the panda morphed into the familiar shape of his father.  
  
"What the hell! Dad?"  
  
"My hands! I'm human again!" Genma jumped up and started dancing around.  
Ranma-saiya fumed.  
  
"CHIKUSO!! WHAT ABOUT ME?!" Genma stopped to look at his son quizzically.  
"Dad... I've got a TAIL!!" Ranma-saiya practically shrieked. He spun around  
and presented the tail to his father, who fainted dead away. The Guide made  
the wise choice of interrupting then.  
  
"Sir, listen good sir! Son change with hot water, just like you sir." He  
walked up to Ranma-saiya and dumped the rest of the kettle's contents over  
the boy's head. He felt a tingling all over his body, and suddenly his hair  
was hanging down in his face again. Twisting around, he looked down at his  
backside to see... nothing. No tail. Straightening out, he noticed that his  
cloths were semi-lose again. Ranma pulled up a sleeve and saw at once that  
his arm was once again slim and taut.  
  
"Great! Back to normal!"  
  
"Ah... no sir, not quite right." Genma woke up fast when he heard that. Both  
Saotomes looked at the Guide suspiciously. "You see hot water cure curse, but  
it only temporary. Cold water change you back." As if to demonstrate, it  
began raining, and both changed to their cursed forms. Ranma-saiya turned an  
icy glare on his father, and the panda pulled a sign out of nowhere and held  
it up.  
  
{Ah... hehe... easy son, it's not that bad...}  
  
Ranma-saiya growled angrily. "Oyaji this is all your fault! I'm gonna kill  
you!" He started towards his cursed father, cracking his knuckles. Genma-  
panda turned and fled. "Oh no you don't!" the boy-turned-saiyajin yelled, and  
was about to follow when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see the  
Guide with the book open.  
  
"Young sir, a word of warning. Book of Jusenkyo Curses says important thing  
about Spring of Drowned Saiyajin." He pointed at a boxed-in area on one page  
and began to read. "It say: 'To those who fall into the Spring of Drowned  
Saiyajin, there is both an advantage and danger to your new form. The  
advantage: the saiyajin form is similar to human form, and the tail can be  
manipulated like a third arm. Wrapping the tail around the waist of the  
person is an effective method of concealment. Also, the saiyajin body is  
substantially stronger than a human body of similar age and development. The  
danger: if cursed person has his/her tail intact (if cut off, it will re-grow  
after several months to a year), the person must NEVER look at the full moon.  
Doing so is EXTREMELY dangerous to those nearby, as the cursed person will  
transform further and enter a berserker-like state. While looking at the full  
moon in normal form may not have the same effect, it is not recommended since  
there is the risk that the person will change forms suddenly.' You understand  
warning young sir?"  
  
Ranma-saiya nodded. "No looking at the full moon... transform further... go  
berserk... OK, I got it. Thanks a lot!" Ranma-saiya then took off after his  
father. The Guide sweatdropped as he heard yelling, several loud thumps, and  
a big splash in the direction the two latest victims of Jusenkyo had  
disappeared. About ten minutes later, he noticed a little black piglet with a  
yellow-and-black striped bandanna around its neck come walking toward his  
hut.  
---------------------------FLASHBACK-----------------------------------  
------------------------------END--------------------------------------  
  
"...Ranma and I each fell into a cursed spring. The panda you saw earlier was  
actually myself, in my cursed form."  
  
"NANI?!?" Nabiki and Akane screamed at once. "Are we supposed to believe  
that?" Nabiki asked incredulously.  
  
Genma sighed theatrically. "Cold water activates the curse." He emptied a cup of  
water over his head and promptly turned into a giant panda.  
  
Akane groaned and put a hand to her head. "I think I feel faint right now..."  
  
Soun abruptly poured water from a kettle over the panda's head. "But, when  
doused with hot water, you return to human form..."  
  
Genma, human again and slightly singed, said, "Well, it needn't be quite THAT  
hot." Then he burst into fake-looking tears. "Oh, how could such a horrible  
thing befall us!"  
  
Suddenly, Nabiki stood. "Now hold on a second. You said you AND Ranma got  
curses." Genma nodded, tears still on his face. "Ok, so what's Ranma's  
'curse'?"  
  
Akane began to look sick. *Not only does he have a tail, but he turns into  
some ANIMAL when hit with cold water too!?! EEWWW!!!*  
  
Genma opened his mouth to speak, but it wasn't his voice that answered.  
"You were lookin' at it earlier." Everyone whirled and was greeted by the  
sight of... another boy in 'Ranma's' cloths. Nabiki did notice a striking  
resemblance between this boy and 'Ranma', and she noticed the differences as  
well. The boy standing in front of her was shorter and not as muscled as  
'Ranma'; his build was much more lithe, like a dancer, but stronger than one.  
His eyes were deep blue-gray, and his hair, also braided into a pigtail, was  
soft and fine, not spiky. Rather than the aura of raw power 'Ranma' had, this  
boy moved with a kind of charisma and confidence. Also, he lacked a tail.  
"Before any of you ask, I'M Ranma Saotome. Again, sorry about all this."  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
Akane shook her head back and forth, dizzy as she was. "Whoa, wait one second!  
If you're Ranma, who was that other guy..." She never had to finish her  
sentence, because Genma picked up another cup of water from the table and  
tossed it at Ranma.  
  
The pigtailed boy sputtered in surprise as he changed. His height shot up  
about four inches and he gained muscle, pulling his clothing tight against his  
body. The tail reappeared and curled around his waist. Ranma-saiya shook some  
water from his spiky hair and said, "That 'other guy'... was ME."  
  
A few moments of silence followed, as this new bit of information was  
digested. Then Nabiki broke the quiet and asked, "Ok... so what IS your  
'cursed form'?"  
  
"The Jusenkyo Guide labeled the pool I fell into the 'Spring of Drowned  
Saiyajin.' And whatever a 'saiyajin' is, I kinda like being one. This form is  
stronger, faster, and has better reflexes than my normal form." Ranma-saiya  
tossed a heated glare at his father as he finished, a look that said *Don't tell  
them what ELSE we know about 'saiyajins', yet.* Genma started to sweat. Lucky  
for him, Soun interrupted, looking at the transformed teenager.  
  
"Oh... so when you are doused with cold water, you become a... 'saiyajin'...  
but hot water turns you back to normal!" Again Soun moved in with the kettle,  
but Ranma-saiya dodged the water.  
  
"Hot water, not BOILING!" he yelped. "My saiyajin form might be stronger than  
normal, but it ain't invulnerable!"  
  
"No sweat," Soun said with a grin, forgetting the kettle and patting Ranma on  
the shoulder. "Your 'problem' isn't so terrible after all!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Let me introduce you to my daughters. Here is Kasumi, nineteen..." He waved  
at the one with long brown hair and a serene expression. "...And Nabiki,  
seventeen..." Next was the girl with straight brown hair in a bowl-cut; she  
had on a shrewd, businessperson-like expression. "...And Akane, sixteen." The  
last girl introduced was QUITE angry, and snappishly turned her head away from  
him, her long blue-black hair following. "Pick one, and she will be your  
fiancee."  
  
"..."  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
"..." Ranma-saiya just stood there for a moment, stunned motionless. The three  
girls started to sweat-drop as Ranma-saiya's blank face then twisted in anger.  
*So THIS is what Akane was referring to when she said she wouldn't marry me!*  
"Oyaji..." he growled dangerously. Genma had scarcely enough time to realize  
just HOW pissed Ranma-saiya was before a heavy fist sent him flying out an  
open window and into the koi pond.  
  
Kasumi didn't know what to do. To her, Ranma seemed fairly mature, though  
rough around the edges, as punching his father out the window had  
demonstrated. But she didn't know if taking the engagement would interfere  
with her duties to the household. She also didn't want to take the opportunity  
from her sisters, who she thought were more deserving than herself.  
  
Nabiki didn't know what to do either. While she knew that Ranma (in either  
form) could net her quite a fortune in the picture department, she also knew  
that taking a fiancÈe would wreck her 'Ice Queen' image at school. *Although  
having him there to play bodyguard/intimidator, especially with those special  
effects he's displaying right now [1], would be advantageous...*  
  
Akane paled as she watched a dark blue shimmering in the air appear around  
Ranma-saiya. *Is... that... a... BATTLE AURA?! Kami-sama... I can FEEL it!  
When Dad told me about Martial Arts masters jumping thirty feet up in the air  
and glowing with ki, I thought they were just old stories, made to inspire me  
to be a better martial artist! But if Ranma can project a battle aura like  
THAT, no wonder he beat me so easily! Ohhh, it's so not fair! Why can HE while  
I CAn't... Wait a second! Could I? Maybe... maybe if I got Ranma to teach  
me... maybe I could get as good as he is! YES, I could, I can, I WILL!... But  
how do I get him to teach me... ACK! I'd have to be his fiancÈe, right? The  
whole school would be shocked... but I want that, don't I? I mean, wouldn't it  
get Kuno off my back? And when the 'Hentai Brigade' saw how good a fighter  
Ranma is, wouldn't they back off too? Yea, it could-* "ERK!" Akane gagged,  
then coughed quietly. Her two sisters glanced at her, then went back to their  
own thoughts, as did she. *THERE'S NO WAY IT COULD WORK! HE'S A FREAK FOR  
KAMI-SAMA'S SAKE! Or is he...? ARGH! Why can't I figure this out?! Ok, one:  
he's a freak... or maybe not. It's a curse right? So wouldn't that mean he's  
not a freak, just cursed to LOOK like a freak of nature... a 'saiyajin'? Oh,  
this is so confusing! Maybe I'll just wait and reserve judgment on the freak  
part. Now, two: he's a pervert, he stared at my body when I... walked into the  
furo without checking the door for an 'occupied' sign first? GAH! Wouldn't  
that make ME the pervert?!?......... Aw, forget it. This is just too much for  
me to handle right now.*  
  
Genma-panda hauled himself upright and REALLY began to sweat when he saw his  
son standing next to the pond. He knew a normal battle aura pulsed and glowed  
softly; the fiercely shimmering aura his son was putting out was ANYTHING but  
normal!  
  
"...I can't believe you. First, how do you expect me to start making plans  
with someone when I've only just met them? Second, how do you expect THEM-" He  
indicated the three Tendo girls, "-to start making plans when they've only  
just met ME?"  
  
Inside the house, Soun, Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane were watching the backyard  
face-off. Nabiki blinked when Ranma made his second point. *Wow! He's got a  
pretty good head on his shoulders.*  
  
Akane noticed as well. *He... he's defending our right to choose who we marry,  
not just his own... Maybe, just maybe, Ranma Saotome isn't like all those  
other boys at school.*  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
Ranma-saiya was about to give his father a beating worse than the one he'd  
given after Jusenkyo when someone spoke. "Ranma? I've given it some  
thought... and I've decided that, if you accept the engagement, I will too."  
  
Kasumi turned to look at her sister, surprised. "Oh my!"  
  
Nabiki whirled, gaping. "I don't believe it! My little boy-hating sister... is  
voluntarily engaging herself to one!"  
  
Soun started waterworks #391. "WAAAH!! MY LITTLE BABY GIRL IS GETTING  
MARRIED!!"  
  
Genma-panda stood straighter and produced a sign. {Then it's decided: Ranma  
shall marry Akane. Together, they shall inherit the dojo and carry on the  
Anything Goes School of Martial Arts.}  
  
Ranma-saiya's battle aura died down abruptly, and he turned. "Akane, I don't  
want to be forced into anything, for your sake as well as for mine..."  
  
Akane looked down at her feet, embarrassed. "It's ok. When you defended our  
right to choose alongside your own, you kind of made up my mind... that you're  
not like most of the boys that I know."  
  
"Are you sure... I mean, we barely know each other! Besides, I kinda don't  
want to be engaged to you..."  
  
Akane's head snapped up. "What are you saying!? Am I not good enough for  
you?!"  
  
"GAH! No, no, that's not what I meant!" Ranma-saiya jumped back a step when  
Akane glared at him. "It's just that I don't want to be... um..."  
  
"Well?"  
  
Ranma-saiya scratched the back of his head with one hand. "Um... well, I uh...  
don't want to, ah..." Akane finally hit the boiling point.  
  
"WELL!?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH BEING ENGAGED TO ME?!?"  
  
Ranma-saiya toppled over backward as the force of Akane's yell hit him. He  
shot back up to his feet and spun around to leave. "You just proved my point  
you violent tomboy! Sheesh! I don't know why I even considered-"  
  
"RANMA NO BAKA!!!" ~WHAM!~  
  
Akane looked down at Ranma-saiya where he lay, hands out Takahashi-style,  
imbedded in the floor of the house and dropped the table she had used to flatten   
her offender. "Humph!"  
  
Genma, human again with the application of some hot water, shook his head and  
frowned. "Now THAT he had coming!"  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
That night...  
  
Ranma-saiya came to face down on a futon. He started to open his eyes.  
"Mm...?"  
  
Kasumi exclaimed, "Ah! He's awake!"  
  
"Oooohh..." Ranma-saiya reached back and rubbed his head where he'd been hit.  
  
"Are you okay?" Kasumi asked. "Don't think too badly of Akane. She's really a  
very sweet girl. She's just gets rather violent sometimes."  
  
Nabiki gave her sister an odd look. "Oh, good, Kasumi. That makes LOTS of  
sense." *Hmm... It seems that Ranma has a bit of a loose tongue. If Akane  
can't handle it, I guess it'll be up to me to accept the engagement. Yea, he  
WILL be really useful, I just gotta figure out how to get him to  
co-operate...*  
  
In the furo...  
  
Akane was fuming away as she washed. *'...don't want to be engaged to you',  
eh? Why that... that... that... that BOY! And I thought he WASN'T a jerk!* She  
poured another bucket of water over herself. *Chikuso! And I wanted him to  
help me with my martial arts training...*  
  
At the same moment, in the outer area of the furo...  
  
Ranma-saiya peeled off his shirt and pants. *Itamu! It still smarts! What kind  
of girl is she anyway?* He grabbed a towel off the stack and reached to open  
the screen...  
  
...which slid open on its own, leaving Ranma-saiya face-to-face with a rapidly  
angering Akane.  
  
"Uh... uh... uh-"  
  
"Why you... you... you..."  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
The quiet Nermia nighttime. Houses with lights off. Birds and other living  
things settling down for the night. Ah, such a wonderful thing.  
Unfortunately...  
  
"...PERVERT!!!" ~POW~  
  
...it never, ever lasts.  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
Genma sat on the back porch. He glanced over at his son and said, "So she's  
got spunk. That just makes a fiancÈe cuter."  
  
Ranma, a BIG red welt covering the entire left side of his face, growled back,  
"'Cute' is NOT the word."  
  
Nabiki sat in the main hall. She glanced over at her sister and said, "But  
didn't you walk in on him before that? It's okay, you're even with him."  
  
Akane, completely red-faced, snarled back, "'Okay' is NOT the word."  
  
To be continued...  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
Next time: Arrival At Furinkan!  
  
[1] Here, Nabiki is referring to the battle aura that Ranma-saiya is putting  
out. For it's appearance, think of how the air shimmers around a heat source,  
then give the shimmering effect a bluish glow, and you have Ranma-saiya's  
battle aura.  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
Ok people, a few HUGE changes to the manga storyline here. Yes, I know Akane  
is out-of-character for a period of time, because I did that deliberately,  
with reason. In the manga, Ranma was presented to Akane first as a girl  
without a friend, then as a boy in exactly the wrong place (at exactly the  
wrong time), then as a boy that TURNS INTO a girl, with an ego problem and a  
runaway mouth. This presentation of Ranma gives Akane absolutely no evidence  
that he is any different than the weak (from her perspective), hormonally  
driven boys at school.  
  
There are two key differences here. One difference is Kasumi and Nabiki's  
responses to Ranma's curse. Kasumi doesn't think that Ranma's curse makes him  
any less human, so she doesn't immediately reject the engagement. Nabiki is  
ignoring the tail and thinking about the other "parts" of Ranma's cursed form,  
so she doesn't immediately reject the engagement. And because Akane doesn't  
instantly have the engagement dumped on her, she has the time to think, and  
doesn't instantly reject it either.  
  
The other difference is what I believe would turn Akane's thoughts around,  
at least for a while. In the manga, Ranma does nothing more than show that  
he's good at dodging during his little match with Akane, and doesn't show even  
a fraction of his true skill until the next morning when he spars with his  
father. And by that time, Akane has already convinced herself that Ranma won  
by cheating, and ignores his performance completely. Here, however, Ranma  
shows undeniable proof that he's an incredible martial artist. When Akane saw  
Ranma project a battle aura, she was seeing a level of Martial Arts that she  
KNEW she's never achieved (even if Ranma didn't do it consciously). Even more  
convincing is the fact that Akane had always thought that battle auras were a  
part of the old Martial Arts legends, a part that she believed was IMPOSSIBLE  
to realize in the "real world". The shock of seeing the impossible done was  
enough to make Akane understand just how good a martial artist Ranma is, and  
since Ranma's mouth hadn't gotten the opportunity to get away from him yet,  
she wasn't all that adverse to Ranma training her.  
  
Though the peace didn't last, since Ranma's mouth DID get ahead of him  
eventually. And Akane DID take it the wrong way, and bashed him for it. Her  
current opinion of him is a total jerk and somewhat of a pervert. However, she  
still knows that he could teach her a lot, and she is considering asking him  
to train her... if he stops being a jerk/pervert. But do you think that's  
really going to happen (at least in her opinion)?  
  
If you STILL think Akane is too OOC, tell me why, 'cause I want to hear.  
  
Update: 8/6/01  
  
I added a bit of internal commentary from Nabiki. I figure her threat of  
competition with get Akane to accept the engagement.  
  
Updated last: 2/8/02  
  
Moved Jusenkyou scene from prologue (now unnessessary) into this chapter.  
  
C&C to: bjhaberman@prodigy.net  
Find the latest of my fics at: http://Trooper1023.tripod.com/ 


	3. Arrival at Furinkan

Disclaimer: All characters and concepts in this story are owned and copyrighted  
by their respective creators. They DO NOT belong to me. I'm just using them in  
this story I wrote for fun.  
  
is spoken in Chinese  
{text} is animal signs, for cursed people  
*text* is thoughts  
~text~ is sounds/actions  
  
Ranma T  
By Trooper1023  
  
Chapter 3: Arrival at Furinkan  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
A new day broke on the district of Nerima. Occasional birdcalls joined with   
the other sounds of the morning.  
  
At the Tendo dojo...  
  
"School?" Ranma asked as he sat before his father.  
  
Genma nodded. "Yes. After all, we are going to be staying a while."  
  
"It's the same school me and Akane go to. I'll see you there!" said Nabiki,  
poking her head through the open screen. Akane came running up.  
  
"Nabiki, wait! I'll go with you."  
  
"What're you talking about?" the middle daughter asked. As she left, Nabiki  
said over her shoulder, "Ranma is your fiancée, remember? You should walk him  
to school." With that Nabiki was gone, leaving Ranma and Akane behind,  
speechless.  
  
"..."  
  
"..."  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
Akane and Ranma were walking to school. Since it was his first day, Ranma  
didn't have a uniform, so he was dressed in a sleeveless white Chinese-style  
shirt, wooden ties and all, a black pair of Kung Fu pants, tied down at the  
ankles, and black fighting slippers. *Though it's not like I'm EVER gonna  
where one of those uniforms with my curse. I'd probably rip the seams every  
time I changed!*  
  
Akane was dressed in the standard high school girl's uniform. She strolled  
along, eyes straight ahead, looking somewhat upset. "Why are you doing that?"  
she suddenly asked.  
  
Ranma looked at her. "Doing what?"  
  
"That!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"ARGH! Why are you walking on top of the fence!" Indeed, Ranma was walking  
atop a fence as easily as if he was walking on level ground.  
  
He shrugged. "Balance practice."  
  
"Show-off," muttered Akane. Silence reigned again for several minutes. "We're  
NOT going to get married, you know..." she growled suddenly.  
  
Ranma snorted. "You're telling ME?"  
  
"...So don't hang around me in school!"  
  
"Don't worry," said Ranma, rolling his eyes. "I can't stand violent tomboys  
like you anyway." Before Akane could chuck her book bag at Ranma, his father  
came running up the fence from behind and slammed a fist into the back of his  
head. Ranma did a front-back split in an attempt to stay on the fence. "POP!  
What're ya--"  
  
Genma cut him off and yelled, "Listen Ranma! You're in no position to be  
choosy about women! I'll tell you only onaaah!" ~SPLASH~  
  
"You were saying Pop?" Ranma taunted from his perch on the fence. Genma-panda  
growled angrily at his son, who had tripped and sent him into the canal on  
the other side of the fence. He sprung up and swung at Ranma, who dodged out  
of the way by flipping off the fence... "HA! Check that, oyaji!" ...just to  
receive a face full of cold water from some old lady with a ladle.  
  
"Something wrong?" Akane asked innocently.  
  
Ranma-saiya looked down for a moment, then turned and started walking back  
toward the dojo. "I think I'll go take a bath."  
  
"You'll be late."  
  
He stopped. "Do YOU think I should start school like this?" he asked,  
indicating his tail.  
  
"But hot water is all it takes to turn you back, right?"  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
"Hot water? Just a moment."  
  
"Thank you," Akane said to the older woman at the door. A pair of signs at  
the gate of the office read: Acupressure, Acupuncture, Moxibustion.  
  
Ranma-saiya stood just beyond the gate, trying to look inconspicuous.  
*Hoooo-boy. What a way to start the day. I wonder what else will go wro--*  
Ranma-saiya's thought cut off as a hand came to rest on his shoulder. He  
flicked a glance behind him and got a good look at the owner of the hand.  
"GAH!" Startled by the sight of a skeleton practically on top of him,  
Ranma-saiya jumped up onto the top of the nearer of the signs. Looking back  
down, he saw that the skeleton was nothing more than a doctor's model, held  
and manipulated by a kindly looking spectacled man in his 20s.  
  
"Oh, pardon me. I didn't mean to startle you like that. This is Betty, my  
skeleton."  
  
Wordlessly, Ranma-saiya hopped down from his perch, just as Akane came from  
inside the gate with a steaming kettle. "Ranma, here's the hot..." she began,  
only to stop at the sight of the other person standing before her.  
  
"Well, hello Akane!"  
  
"Oh! Doctor Tofu, um, Good morning!" Akane bowed, and with the kettle nudged  
Ranma-saiya into doing the same.  
  
"Good morning to you!" He bowed as well, and made 'Betty' copy.  
  
*Hmmm? What's up with Akane? She ain't usually like this...* Ranma-saiya  
thought.  
  
Doctor Tofu continued, "You haven't been by lately. No new injuries?"  
  
"No, sir." Akane looked a little flustered. "I mean... I haven't been doing  
anything that would..." As Akane continued to chat with Dr. Tofu, Ranma-saiya  
slipped out of the conversation, kettle in hand.  
  
*Interesting,* he thought as he poured the water over his head and shrunk  
down to his normal form.  
  
A few minutes later...  
  
"Who was that guy?" asked Ranma as he followed Akane from up on another  
fence.  
  
"Dr. Ono Tofu, the local chiropractor." Akane was running. Hopefully she'd be  
able to get to class on time, despite the setback.  
  
*That answers that. Good to know too, 'cause I never know when I'll be in a  
fight and have to get patched up.* Out loud, Ranma asked, "Martial artist  
too, isn't he?"  
  
"Huh? How'd you know?"  
  
"He snuck up 'n' surprised me. To do that, he'd have to erase all sense of  
his presence. And he did darn well."  
  
"Yea, he's very good. But he doesn't look like he'd be, right?" Akane paused.  
"Ever since I was little, he's taken care of my injuries."  
  
Ranma left the fence to run side by side with Akane. "So... isn't he a man?"  
  
Akane gave him a funny look. "Yes. So?"  
  
"I thought you said you hate men."  
  
Akane didn't respond for several seconds. She looked up as the sounds of a  
large crowd first reached Ranma's ears. "No," she growled as they closed on  
the school gate. "I..." Ranma became concerned as the sounds of the crowd  
became louder and more like a mob. "...HATE..." The general hubbub dissolved  
into individual yells and Akane finished her statement. "...BOYS!!!"  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
"What the?" Ranma leapt up onto the schoolyard wall, away from Akane, and  
blinked in confusion as the crowd burst out in challenges to Akane. It was a  
motley gang of high school boys; some were in boxing gear, some were from a  
variety of martial arts clubs, a few were in full kendo garb, and the rest  
were from an assortment of sports teams.  
  
Akane answered by increasing her speed. "Out of my way! I'M LATE!" She hit  
the crowd fill tilt and blasted through the first line with a vicious series  
of punches and kicks. ~WHAM~ ~WHAM~ ~CRACK~ ~THUMP~ ~POW~  
  
Ranma sweatdropped from his perch on the wall. At a window on one of the  
upper floors of the school, a small group of girls watched the 'battle',  
Nabiki among them. "Oh Ranma! Get in the building! Now!"  
  
"But... But..." Ranma gestured to the carnage in the yard.  
  
"Don't worry about Akane! She does this every morning!"  
  
*EVERY morning?! What the heck is going on here!?* Ranma turned his attention  
back to Akane and noticed that the 'battle' had stopped. Though 'slaughter'  
would be a better word for it...  
  
Akane flicked her long hair back, sweat dripping off her brow. "Jeez, it's  
the same thing every morning! What a drag!" Suddenly, Akane shot her hand up  
to intercept... a rose?  
  
"Truly. Such a boorish lot." The newcomer who stepped into view and spoke was  
an older boy, probably seventeen or eighteen. He was dressed in kendo garb  
and carried a boken. He was tall and lean with dark hair and eyes. Ranma  
noticed that while the kendoist was taller than himself normally, his  
saiyajin form was taller still. Whoever he was, he could have been called  
handsome, but the haughty, pompous way he carried himself killed whatever  
attractiveness he might have had otherwise. He continued, "Evidently each of  
them intends to ask you out, oh fiery one... on the dawn that he finally  
defeats you."  
  
Akane sighed, exasperated. "Oh. Kuno-sempai. Good morning," she said with a  
total lack of enthusiasm.  
  
The upperclassman went on. "And now... Akane Tendo... might I take the honor  
of fighting you?"  
  
Up on the yard wall, Ranma decided enough was enough. He leapt off the wall  
and landed beside Akane. "Man. You're popular, ain't ya?" he said with a  
smirk.  
  
Akane narrowed her eyes and without looking at him said, "Stay out of the  
way. This is my fight."  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"You'll see."  
  
Suddenly Ranma found the boken thrust at him by the upperclassman. "You  
there!" he called.  
  
"What?" asked Ranma, turning his attention from Akane.  
  
Storm clouds began to gather in the distance, like some kind of ominous  
warning, as the upperclassman spoke again. "You are being quite familiar with  
the tigress Akane!"  
  
Ranma turned back to Akane. "Tell him Akane... Akane?"  
  
"Tell him what?" she asked innocently, looking away.  
  
Before Ranma could say anything back, the upperclassman spoke fiercely,  
cutting him off. "Who are you, boor? Ah! But it is the custom to give one's  
own name first! Fine, then! Mine I shall give!"  
  
"..." *What's with this guy?* Ranma thought. "If you want..." he said,  
indicating the kendoist.  
  
"My name..." the upperclassman paused for dramatic effect, "...is Tatewaki  
Kuno. Junior Group E. Captain of the Kendo Club. Undefeated young star of the  
high school kendo world. But my peers call me... the Blue Thunder of Furinkan  
High!" ~KRAK-BOOOOM~ Perfectly timed, a bolt of lightning lanced down from  
the darkened sky, followed by a deafening peal of thunder.  
  
Inside the school building, more people were beginning to crowd around  
windows overlooking the yard. Comments and questions abounded when Kuno gave  
his title.  
  
"Blue Thunder?"  
"That's a new one."  
"Last week he was calling himself the Shooting Star."  
Noticing many questioning looks, Nabiki remarked, "News to me."  
  
Back out in the yard...  
  
Ranma scratched his chin with a finger. "Okay... I'm, uh... I'm staying at  
the Tendo Dojo..."  
  
Kuno stiffened. "WHAT?! Under the same roof as the beauteous Akane?! HOW DARE  
YOU, PEASANT!!!" Running forward, Kuno lashed out with his boken in a  
vicious overhead strike...  
  
...Which Ranma back-flipped away from easily. Loosening the straps on his  
book bag, Ranma said in a loud and clear voice, "As heir to the Saotome School  
of Anything Goes Martial Arts..." Righting himself in mid air, "Here, hold my  
bag for a sec," Ranma tossed his bag to Akane. Landing on his toes, Ranma took  
up an unarmed ready stance and said, "...I, Ranma Saotome, accept your  
challenge!"  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
Lightning flashed overhead as the entire conscious population of Furinkan  
High gathered at the windows to see the events transpiring in the school  
yard.  
  
"Hey, check it out! Somebody's taking on Kuno!"  
"Talk about dangerous!"  
~Sigh~ "Too bad. He's a cute one."  
  
Down on the ground level...  
  
"So, you dare to hound Akane? Scoundrel! I, Tatewaki Kuno, shall bring thee  
to justice!" Kuno raised his boken in preparation to strike.  
  
"He's only staying with us, Kuno!" Akane said.  
  
Ranma growled, "Who's hounding who anyway?"  
  
"SILENCE, FOOL!!" roared Kuno, and he charged straight at Ranma. The boken  
descended towards the pigtailed martial artist, and passed through nothing  
until it encountered the stone wall beyond, ~CRAAACK~ gorging a vertical cut  
in its surface. All onlookers gasped as the challenger disappeared from under  
Kuno's boken and reappeared to his right.  
  
"Did you see that?"  
"No I didn't! He moved too fast!"  
"Whoa..."  
  
Kuno snarled as he realized that his lowly cur of an opponent had somehow  
dodged his righteous blow. Turning to face Saotome again, he instantly lashed  
out again in a flat, sideward cut.  
  
Ranma wasn't expecting the upperclassman to recover so quickly and was caught  
by surprise slightly. He bumped his speed up another notch, leaping up over  
the slice. Ranma was about to taunt his stuck-up opponent when he heard a  
crash behind him. A quick glance showed Ranma that Kuno had cut THROUGH the  
tree he had been standing in front of, with a boken nonetheless! *This is  
serious! He cut through that tree like nothing! I gotta end this quickly,  
before Kuno does something we'll both regret!*  
  
Landing lightly, Ranma glared at the upperclassman. "Now hold on..." Blurring  
into motion, Ranma covered the dozen feet between them in under a second.  
"...Let me make this perfectly clear..."  
  
*This guy... is GOOD!* Kuno was actually starting to sweat.  
  
All the spectators were astounded.  
  
"Ho-ly! That new guy IS fast!"  
"Man, I've never seen anybody move like that!"  
  
Akane saw her observations from the previous night confirmed. *Whoa! Ranma  
was in Kuno's face before he could blink! Ooooh, first the battle aura, now  
that incredible speed! I so have to have him train me and...*  
  
Now in the kendoist's face, Ranma yelled, "...I am NOT hounding Akane!! If  
you want to chase that violent tomboy, be my guest!"  
  
*...I'm a WHAT?!?* "Why, you FREAK!" screamed Akane, throwing Ranma's book  
bag at him from behind.  
  
"Would ya quit callin' me a f--"  
  
~WHOOSH~ "Speaking ill of Akane?! I FORBID IT!" Kuno's boken flashed through  
the air where Ranma had been a second before and cut the flying book bag in  
half. *Wha... I missed again? How?!* Suddenly Kuno felt something above him.  
Raising his boken into a high guard, Kuno saw his foe almost hanging in the  
air, two fingers descending toward the kendoist's forehead.  
  
*...This should remind Kuno of just what kinda person he--* Ranma's thought  
cut off as he felt the first drops of rain, *--AH KUSO!!* and his Jusenkyo  
curse kicked in.  
  
Kuno's eyes widened as Saotome seemed to grow bigger. The last thing he saw  
before a snap kick knocked him out cold was his foe's face, with spiky hair  
and dark eyes...  
  
*Gotta move! Gotta move! Can't let anyone realize somethin's changed!*  
Ranma-saiya kicked the upperclassman head over heels and took off for the  
main entrance to the school.  
  
*That idiot! He should have noticed it was starting to rain! At least his  
father noticed and has some more hot water for him. Now to find the baka...*  
Akane thought sourly.  
  
Back to the students watching the battle.  
  
"Hey, didn't that new guy seem to get... bigger?"  
"Huh? What do you mean?"  
"Yea, what're you talking about? I didn't see anything different about him."  
"I don't know. Maybe you're right..."  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
A few minutes later, inside the gym equipment storage room...  
  
Ranma-saiya rung the water out of his shirt, glad that his father had showed  
up with a kettle of hot water. "Dang it. If it hadn't started raining like  
that, I'd have pounded that pompous jerk out for good. Instead, I gotta settle  
for one lousy kick--"  
  
A voice from the window interrupted him. "I wouldn't be so sure."  
  
"Whadda ya mean, Akane?" he asked, turning around.  
  
"Check your throat," she said, pointing with a finger.  
  
"Huh? A bruise..." Thinking back, Ranma-saiya remembered the very end of the  
fight, just before the rain changed him. The upperclassman's boken had been  
an inch or so from Ranma's neck. "...from that?!" He whistled, slightly  
impressed. "And he didn't even touch me!" Genma, now a panda also due to the  
rain, choose that moment to dump the hot water on Ranma-saiya.  
  
Akane continued speaking. "If he had, you'd be breathing through a hole in  
your neck. I'd say it was a pretty even fight."  
  
Ranma, normal again, blinked. "Oh, I wouldn't say that..."  
  
Elsewhere, in class 2-E...  
  
"Hmmmmm..."  
  
"Amazing. And you can't remember him ever touching your forehead?" Nabiki  
asked as she watched Kuno rub at the Kanji character for "buffoon", imprinted  
on his brow.  
  
"No I cannot. But no matter, for my foe cannot even spell! This is how you  
spell it!" Kuno snatched up a piece of chalk and wrote out the same character  
on the board, 'spelled' slightly differently. "No, this!" He tried again.  
  
Nabiki sighed. "Hate to break it to you Kuno-chan, but Saotome got it right,  
and you didn't."  
  
"I despise you."  
  
"I'm SO glad."  
  
In class 1-F...  
  
"Class, we have a new student today. His name is Ranma Saotome." Said new  
student stepped into the classroom. Several of the girls in the room  
whispered among themselves.  
  
"Ooh! He's cute!"  
"What a hunk!"  
"Those eyes are sooo dreamy!"  
"Watch it Sayuka! You're drooling!"  
"I wonder if he's taken... I hope not!"  
  
The teacher continued. "I understand that you were in China until recently...  
but that doesn't change the fact that both you and Akane Tendo were late. Ms.  
Tendo? Please show Mr. Saotome where the buckets are kept."  
  
Now standing in the hall, holding a bucket of water in each hand, Akane's  
face darkened. "This is all YOUR fault!"  
  
"My fault?! How do ya figure that?" Ranma stood next to Akane, buckets of  
water also in hand. "It was your fight, right?"  
  
"Yes, but every morning I finish my fight BEFORE school starts!"  
  
Ranma shook his head. "Whatever." A pause. "Hey, what was that all about  
anyway?"  
  
Akane's expression turned glum. "Kuno told them..."  
  
-FLASHBACK-  
"If you wish to date Akane Tendo, you must defeat her in combat first! I  
shall accept no other terms!"  
-END FLASHBACK-  
  
Back in class 2-E...  
  
"WHAT!? FIANCÉE?!" Kuno roared.  
  
"That's right Kuno-chan. Ranma is engaged to marry Akane."  
  
"THAT FIEND! I'LL SMITE HIM--"  
  
"Kuno get in the hall! I will not tolerate disturbances in my class." Kuno  
didn't even object as he burst through the classroom door. Seconds later he  
was back in his kendo garb, boken on his back, buckets in hand, running as  
fast as he could.  
  
Back to the hall outside class 1-F...  
  
"You mean you fight with Kuno EVERY morning?!"  
  
"Yup. And I haven't lost yet!"  
  
Ranma looked away. "Well, when a guy fights a girl, he usually doesn't go full  
out."  
  
Akane growled back, "If you're so much better than me, why do you try  
TEACHING? To see if you really understand what you're doing when you fight."  
*There, I've said it.*  
  
"Huh?!" Ranma whipped his head around. "Are you asking me to train you?"  
  
"Uh... damn straight I am! If you don't think I'm a good martial artist then  
prove it by helping me get BETTER!"  
  
"Well, I kinda doubt you could get anywhere near as good as me... but I could  
help ya get a bit better. I mean, your defense just sucks. After all, to be a  
real martial artist you gotta have years of heavy training behind ya. Even a  
tough, macho tomboy like you."  
  
"Grrrrrrr..." Steam began to seep out of Akane's ears. Ranma noticed.  
  
"Um... no hard feelings, ok? YAH!!" ~SPLASH~ Ranma barely dodged the wave of  
water.  
  
"NEVER, Ranma Saotome!" Kuno snarled viciously, dropping the now-empty bucket  
and drawing his boken.  
  
"Kuno-sempai..."  
  
"Whadda'ya think you're--"  
  
Kuno continued, "I will NEVER accept your engagement to Akane Tendo!" And  
abruptly windows to every nearby classroom opened up to reveal dozens of  
students with shocked looks on their faces.  
  
"What engagement?!"  
"You lucky dog, Saotome!"  
"No fair!"  
"How could you, Akane?!"  
"Yea! You said you hated boys!"  
  
To say that Akane and Ranma became somewhat consternated would be an  
understatement.  
  
"Wait!" "Our parents decided!" Akane and Ranma began at the same time. "It's  
not true! It's--" "We never--" Kuno took that moment to attack. Ranma got out  
of the way, but the bucket he held was sliced in half. The pig-tailed martial  
artist leapt away from his attacker and the puddle rapidly forming on the  
floor.  
  
"Stand your ground and face me, weakling!" Kuno roared.  
  
Ranma grit his teeth and hollered over his shoulder, "This ain't the place for  
a fight! Follow me!"  
  
Kuno gave chase. "That I shall!"  
  
Akane found herself surrounded by student eager to see the result of another  
fight. She ended up leading the crowd down the hallway after Ranma and Kuno,  
ignoring a teacher's order to slow down.  
  
Back to the soon-to-be-combatants...  
  
Ranma slid open an outside window and vaulted through. "Let's take this  
outside, Kuno!" The kendoist followed as expected.  
  
"HEY! This is the THIRD FLOOR!!" somebody yelled.  
  
Kuno promptly went "AK!"  
  
Ranma, on the other hand... "No sweat! I'm a... YOW!!!"  
  
"That idiot," Akane moaned, slapping a hand on her forehead.  
  
A classmate remarked, "Boy, those two are so lucky the pool is where it is.  
  
*Lucky he says! YEA RIGHT!!* Thought Ranma just before he hit the water.  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
The splash was bigger than anyone at Furinkan had seen in a while.  
  
"Hey look! There's Kuno, out cold as usual."  
"But what's happened to Saotome?"  
  
Akane kept quiet. *How the heck is he going to get away from everyone without  
revealing his curse?*  
  
Under the surface of the pool, Ranma-saiya swam hard, trying to figure a way  
to escape his current predicament. An idea came to him. *Hmm... Kuno's still  
out cold. Maybe, just maybe...* Swimming up underneath the kendoist, Ranma-  
saiya began to move for the edge of the pool, using Kuno for cover. *I just  
hope he doesn't--*  
  
"Saotome! I fight on!" Suddenly conscious, Kuno grabbed Ranma-saiya in a  
clumsy bear hug.  
  
"GAAH!" *--wake up!*  
  
Up on the third floor, Akane swore to herself. *CHIKUSO! The game's up!*  
  
"Let... me... GO..." Ranma-saiya struggled to free himself.  
  
Kuno tightened his hold. "You won't escape--"  
  
"MORON!!" Ranma-saiya reached back and grabbed Kuno by the head. Flipping both  
of them out of the water, he slammed the kendoist down onto the tile flooring  
around the pool, hard. ~WHAM~ Then he continued flipping through the air. In  
seconds Ranma-saiya was over the fence and out of sight.  
  
Inside the school building, loads of comments and questions sprung up.  
  
"What just happened!?"  
"Yow! Saotome is strong! Look at the crater Saotome made when he slammed Kuno  
into the ground!"  
"It-it's just like this morning!"  
"What do ya mean?"  
"He was in a big rush this time too. I wonder why..."  
"Hey... remember when it started raining on the first fight between Kuno  
and Saotome? How all of a sudden Saotome looked bigger? The same thing just  
happened again!"  
"Whoa, talk about weird... did you guys see Saotome's hair? It was all over  
the place!"  
"What are you people talking about?"  
  
Akane decided it was best to make a quiet exit and ran to find the nearest  
supply of hot water.  
  
Poolside...  
  
Kuno lay on his back, in a fair amount of pain but also in contemplation.  
"That man... he was a tall one, taller than myself. And Saotome is only of  
average height. Which means..." He sat up instantly and bellowed, "Ranma  
Saotome, you wretch! Do you think you've escaped my wrath?!"  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
Some distance away...  
  
~Huff~ ~Huff~ ~Huff~ *What an asshole. Trying to drown me like that! Jeez...*  
  
Ranma-saiya sat bare-chested on a tree branch, out of casual sight. He wrung  
as much water out of his shirt as he could before hanging it on the branch.  
*Well, I guess he knows my little secret now.*  
  
"You idiot!"  
  
"Akane? What--"  
  
"Just how dumb can you be? I mean, jumping out a window like that, and right  
into a pool too!"  
  
Ranma-saiya pulled an eyelid down and stuck out his tongue in a classic  
Japanese Redeye. "Shaddup, you!" Akane simply humphed. "Eh?"  
  
She held up a steaming kettle. "I guess you don't want this hot water then.  
Oh well, and I went through ALL the trouble of getting it..."  
  
"Nononono, I do want that hot water!"  
  
Akane suddenly spun around as a sloshing noise reached her ears. *Kuno!*  
  
"STOP FLEEING FROM YOUR RIGHTFUL PUNISHMENT, SAOTOME!" bellowed said kendoist.  
  
"Ranma, catch! I'll distract him!"  
  
"Huh?" Ranma-saiya blinked. Akane didn't even look as she lobbed the kettle up  
into the tree. "Oh shit!" He launched himself at the kettle and barely caught  
it. Ranma-saiya ended up with his hands holding the kettle and his feet  
holding him to the branch. *And just what am I supposed to do NOW?*  
  
Akane approached the upperclassman with a determined look on her face. "Kuno-  
sempai! I challenge you!" She took a fighting stance.  
  
"Ah, the lovely Akane Tendo. I never dreamed that you would challenge me..."  
He sighed. "So be it. If you win... I shall allow you to date me! Thus, I will  
lose with all my might!"  
  
A vein bulged on Akane's forehead. "And who's asking to go out with YOU?!?"  
*Ranma... you'd better appreciate this...*  
  
Kuno advanced, striking high with an overhead swing. Akane caught the boken  
as it descended and used it to pull Kuno off balance. Tripping her foe, she  
rolled onto her back and booted Kuno behind her with a loud "KI-YAH!" only to  
realize what, or rather WHO, was behind her. *Oh no!*  
  
Back up in the tree, Ranma-saiya finally pulled himself back onto the branch.  
He lifted the kettle, ~KLUNK~, and neatly caught the back of Kuno's head. Hot  
water dripped from the deformed kettle.  
  
"..." Kuno turned as best he could. "You're that man I saw at the pool!"  
  
Akane ran up and yelled, "You haven't changed?!"  
  
"What'd you expect!?" Ranma-saiya growled back.  
  
Kuno spoke again. "Did you by chance see a boy smaller than yourself, with a  
similar pig-tail?"  
  
Ranma-saiya shook his head. "Uh-uh."  
  
"ARGH! He has fled from me once again!" Ranma-saiya blinked. "The coward must  
fear my prowess with the sword!" A few wisps of a battle aura began to form  
around the pig-tailed human-turned-saiyajin. "Feh, a weakling--" ~THUD~ "That  
was uncalled for."  
  
Ranma-saiya jumped downed to where he'd dropped the raving kendoist. "I'm not  
gonna just sit there are let you dis on me. I can put you down anytime! Bring  
it on!!"  
  
Kuno took his boken back from Akane and said, "Hmm... Another fool wishes to  
test his mettle against me. Very well. Since you are obviously assisting  
Saotome in his escape, if I win you will tell me where to find him." With  
that, the kendoist attacked.  
  
"And who says you're gonna win?" asked an irate Ranma-saiya as he caught  
Kuno's boken with one hand.  
  
Kuno gaped. *W-What?! H-he caught my blade! But that's impossible! How could  
he catch my weapon as if it were a mere stick?!* He looked his shirtless foe  
over more closely. *He's big, no doubt very strong. But mere physical strength  
would not let him catch my weapon that way! Wait... Black eyes?! How could he  
have--* ~POW~ A straight punch to the head and Kuno toppled backward. *Ugh...  
He's faster than Saotome even...*  
  
Ranma-saiya withdrew his fist and dropped the boken beside the fallen  
kendoist. Suddenly he smirked and said, "Don't bug Saotome. Got that Kuno? If  
ya do, ya gotta answer to me."  
  
*Who... who is he...?* Kuno thought as he faded out of consciousness.  
  
"Let's head home, Akane. I've had enough for today."  
  
"School isn't over yet, you know."  
  
"So?"  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
That night, in the Tendo dojo...  
  
"Son, I hear that your fiancée was looking out for you today."  
  
"Ah, Pops, it's not like I asked her to or anything..."  
  
"Still, you should..."  
  
Elsewhere, in Akane's room...  
  
"Ease up, sis. What's wrong him anyway? So what if he turns into a "saiyajin"  
when he's hit with a bucket of cold water? I mean, he's good-looking normally,  
but check out that saiyajin bod'!"  
  
"Nabiki!! You're unbelievable!"  
  
"Oh come on now. I'm only human you know."  
  
"Oneesan, everyone's spreading rumors about me! They're saying I'm his  
fiancée!"  
  
"Ah, Akane, you ARE his fiancée. You were the one who accepted the engagement,  
remember?"  
  
"That doesn't matter!" Akane said hotly. "The whole school has seen Ranma  
change, not once but twice! I certainly don't want everyone thinking I'm a  
freak too!"  
  
On the other side of the door...  
  
"..." Ranma stopped, turned around, and walked the other way. "And I was  
supposed to THANK her!" he growled as he slid down the stairway banister.  
  
To be continued...  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
Next time: The Samurai and the Demon!  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
Here's the COMPLETE Chapter 3. Sorry about the delay but I had a few summer  
reading assignments for school that I had to do.  
  
The whole idea behind this fic is to recreate each major situation in the  
manga with a slightly different twist. That twist being, Ranma isn't worried  
about preserving his manhood, he's worried about preserving his humanity. I  
wanted to see how our favorite jock and martial artist would deal with being  
part-time "monkey-demon"! I know I'm being VERY unoriginal, but that wasn't  
my objective. If you don't want to see the Ranma 1/2 manga told again with  
minor changes at many points, major changes at some points, and a few parts  
taken in an entirely new direction, then don't read this fic. Go read  
"Ultimate Crisis, Ultimate Warrior" or some other fic.  
  
Japanese words:  
Oyaji - old man, disrespectful  
Boken - wooden practice sword shaped like a katana  
-sempai - upperclassman, (suffix)  
Baka - idiot/moron/fool  
-chan - younger and/or lesser, (suffix)  
Oneesan - older sister, formal  
  
Updated last: 2/8/02  
  
C&C to: bjhaberman@prodigy.net  
Find the latest of my fics at: http://Trooper1023.tripod.com/ 


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